Postlethwaite wants to build on 'important' Ireland experience

Postlethwaite scored six tries for Ulster last season

Ulster centre Jude Postlethwaite is determined to push himself into the mix for an Ireland call-up after getting a taste of the Test environment over the summer.

Having previously been involved with Emerging Ireland, Postlethwaite was a training panellist for Ireland's tour to Georgia and Portugal.

The 23-year-old has also been named in the Ireland XV squad for next month's game against Spain and is hoping to use this season as a springboard after scoring six tries in 18 appearances for Ulster last term.

"Training with the players there was really important for me, just to see what the standard is," Postlethwaite said of his Ireland experience over the summer.

"Also working with the coaches to see what it is I need to do to improve when I get my chances to start or come off the bench, like what I need to do to prove to them that I'm capable of playing and getting the cap, but it was really good."

He added: "There's a lot of younger centres coming through that are really good and I've played with a lot of them so it'll be good competition once we all start getting gametime. It's like who can perform and it'll keep me on my toes, but it's a really exciting season ahead."

After being sprung from the bench in Ulster's wins over the Bulls and Sharks, Postlethwaite will make his first start of the season in Saturday's game against the Lions at Ellis Park (12:45 BST).

And after a deeply disappointing 2024-25 campaign that ended without Investec Champions Cup qualification, Postlethwaite says he senses an uptick in "belief and desire" in the Ulster squad as they target a fourth successive United Rugby Championship win.

"I feel like this has been building since pre-season," added the former RBAI pupil, who won a Six Nations Under-20 Grand Slam with Ireland in 2022.

"Our pre-season was really tough. Mark [Sexton] coming in [as attack coach] fought hard for that belief. He's obviously a really good coach and put the foundations in place for our attack.

"I feel like I know what we can do in training and when it comes off, you can tell in the games, it's hard for teams to defend."